Transnational Organized Crime

Fighting Terror Through Justice: Implementing the IGAD Framework for Legal Cooperation Against Terrorism

by Matthew Schwartz

Co-authored with the Task Force on Legal Cooperation against Terrorism in the IGAD Subregion.

East Africa and the Horn face a number of transnational security threats, including terrorism, transnational crime,... more East Africa and the Horn face a number of transnational security threats, including terrorism, transnational crime, and piracy. In recent years, particularly following the July 2010 attacks in Kampala, al-Shabaab has been increasingly viewed as a threat not only to Somalia, but to the greater subregion. Tourism has declined and shipping costs have risen due to the threat of piracy from Somalia. Lawless pockets where government reach is weak, together with rampant corruption, have turned the region into a major transit point for black market financial flows and various forms of illicit trafficking.

Terrorism and transnational crime increasingly threaten security in the subregion of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development [IGAD]. Because of their transnational nature, no individual IGAD member state will single-handedly be able to deal effectively with these threats. As the IGAD Security Strategy adopted in December 2010 makes clear, effective cooperation will be crucial to winning the struggle against terrorism and to ensuring that other forms of transnational crime do not similarly jeopardize the IGAD subregion’s growth, prosperity, and stability.

Strategic Value of African Tribal Art: Auction Sales Trends as Cultural Intelligence

by Erik Nemeth

view abstract at: view abstract at: http://culturalsecurity.net/cs/research.htm#strategicvalueofafricantribalart

”Maras: Una amenaza transnacional emergente en Iberoamérica”

by Jesus Perez

This was my second academic paper. It was written for the III Congreso Nacional “Información, Seguridad y Defensa” (Segovia, april de 2007).

It's just a basic approach to the topic. Oddly I included a section about Brazilian prison gangs. I was fascinated then by violent non state actors, networsks and netwar.

Las bandas juveniles y la delincuencia callejera no son fenómenos nuevos. Sin embargo en los últimos años el grado de... more Las bandas juveniles y la delincuencia callejera no son fenómenos nuevos. Sin embargo en los últimos años el grado de sofisticación en su organización, la violencia provocada y las ramificaciones internacionales han convertido a las bandas juveniles organizadas en un problema de enorme magnitud en Iberoamérica. Varios países centroamericanos han señalado a las maras como una amenaza a su seguridad nacional de primer nivel. Por su lado el FBI ha señalado a la salvadoreña mara Salvatrucha como la banda organizada más peligrosa de Estados Unidos.

El carácter transnacional y su estructura en red las caracterizan como un nuevo tipo de amenaza propia de un mundo crecientemente globalizado. En Iberoamérica la violencia política de los años 80 ha dado paso a otras formas de violencia con trasfondo social. Las maras quedan así en un terreno difuso donde se confunde la criminalidad organizada y la violencia que pretende deliberadamente socavar la legitimidad del Estado pero sin un objetivo político claro. Ello se refleja en las diferentes aproximaciones al problema que van de lo policial a lo abiertamente militar.

El crimen organizado en Europa: una grave amenaza para la seguridad y el orden público

by Francisco José Rodrigo Luelmo

"Archivos de Criminología, Criminalística y Seguridad Privada", Vol. II, Estado de Nuevo León (México), enero-junio de 2009

The organized crime is one of the most important threats for the international and states’ security, because of the... more The organized crime is one of the most important threats for the international and states’ security, because of the enormous variety of punishable activities which practices, but also because of its global spreading. Its existence has worried some organizations such as United Nations and European Union, which have tried to define it in order to improve the judicial and police efficiency in the fight against this threat. Europe is a space very affected by the organized crime, with mafias (e.g., in Italy and Russia) and drugs-traffickers. So, this criminal phenomenon risks the citizen’s integrity and the respect for the rule of law in Europe and in the rest of the world.

El crimen organizado es una de las amenazas más graves para la seguridad internacional y de los Estados por la multitud de actividades delictivas que practica, pero también por su mundialización. Su existencia ha preocupado a organizaciones como Naciones Unidas y la Unión Europea, que lo han intentado definir para mejorar la eficacia jurídico-policial en la lucha contra este riesgo. Europa es un espacio muy afectado por el crimen organizado, en forma de mafias (por ejemplo, en Italia y Rusia) y narcotraficantes de droga. Se trata, pues, de un fenómeno criminal que pone en riesgo la integridad de los ciudadanos y el respeto al Estado de Derecho en Europa y en el resto del mundo.

Le misure di prevenzione del terrorismo e dei traffici criminosi internazionali ("The Measures of Prevention of International Terrorism and Criminal Trafficking")

by Lorenzo Pasculli

Versione definitiva in italiano della mia tesi di dottorato. Vietata ogni distribuzione o riproduzione non autorizzata (Final italian version of my Ph.D. dissertation. Do not distribute or copy without permission)

Università degli Studi di Trento (University of Trento)

Relatore (Tutor/Supervisor): Prof. Silvio Riondato

Obiettivo della presente ricerca è stata la ricognizione, la sistematizzazione e la critica delle misure di... more Obiettivo della presente ricerca è stata la ricognizione, la sistematizzazione e la critica delle misure di prevenzione negative praeter delictum del crimine globale previste dal diritto internazionale e sovranazionale. Si è cercato di adottare un metodo rispondente al carattere, appunto, globale della materia, nonché all’esigenza di offrirne una lettura sistematica universale. In questo senso, si è fatto largo uso della comparazione giuridica, al fine di individuare principi, categorie e prassi comuni, con cui interpretare anche il diritto internazionale e sovranazionale.

Il lavoro si è strutturato in quattro parti. Nella prima si è introdotto il problema della possibile confusione fra pene e misure preventive predelittuali, che, applicate senza idonee garanzie di certezza legale, si prestano a fungere da pene del mero sospetto. Nella seconda parte si è affrontata l’evoluzione della prevenzione negli ordinamenti contemporanei, con particolare riferimento all’impiego di misure negative da parte del potere politico in tempi di emergenza. Nella terza parte sono state esaminate, in un quadro d’insieme, le esperienze e le categorie maturate da vari ordinamenti nazionali in materia di prevenzione. Nell’ultima parte si è cercato di interpretare alla luce di tali strumenti i modelli di prevenzione di diritto internazionale e sovranazionale.

All’esito della nostra ricerca è emerso come il ricorso a misure di prevenzione negativa praeter delictum sia prerogativa comune ad ogni ordinamento giuridico, se non altro nei casi in cui vengano meno l’efficacia deterrente della pena e l’efficacia di interventi di prevenzione positiva. In certi paesi tali misure sono uno strumento ordinario di lotta alla criminalità pur sempre riconducibili ai principi garantistici del diritto penale, in altri contesti esse vengono usate quali misure eccezionali o di guerra, in una concezione utilitaristica che, in nome della ragione politica, tende a giustificare indiscriminati sacrifici delle libertà e dei diritti individuali, come la tortura e i “targeted killings”.

Nonostante alcuni significativi interventi della Corte di Giustizia dell’Unione europea, la disciplina delle misure negative adottate dagli ordinamenti internazionali e sovranazionali risulta ancora troppo legata a logiche politiche e troppo svincolata da principi e garanzie in grado di tutelare, quanto meno, un nucleo inderogabile di diritti e libertà fondamentali.

Organising the nicotine racket: Patterns of cooperation in the cigarette black market in Germany

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in: Petrus C. van Duyne, Klaus von Lampe, James L. Newell (eds.), Criminal Finances and Organising Crime in Europe, Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2003, 41-65

This chapter discusses the potential for a better understanding of variations in the patterns of criminal cooperation,... more This chapter discusses the potential for a better understanding of variations in the patterns of criminal cooperation, taking the illegal cigarette market as an example. The first section explains why the market for contraband cigarettes has been chosen for a case study of organised crime. In the second section, a general classificatory scheme is proposed for analysing criminal structures, while in the third section, this classificatory scheme is applied to the illegal cigarette market.

The scourge of opiates: The illicit narcotics trade in the Islamic Republic of Iran

by David Sabatelle

Crime stoppers - UK overhauls organised crime policing

by Anna Sergi

Published on Jane's Intelligence Review, December 2011

As the UK government plans to launch a new agency dedicated to fighting organised
crime, Anna Sergi questions... more As the UK government plans to launch a new agency dedicated to fighting organised
crime, Anna Sergi questions whether the inadmissibility of telecommunication
intercepts as evidence in UK courts will continue to hinder investigations.

Explaining the emergence of the cigarette black market in Germany

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in: Petrus C. van Duyne, Klaus von Lampe, Maarten van Dijck, James Newell (eds.), The Organised Crime Economy: Managing Crime Markets in Europe, Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2005, 209-229

This study explores the emergence of the cigarette black market in Germany using official statistics, unpublished law... more This study explores the emergence of the cigarette black market in Germany using official statistics, unpublished law enforcement statistics, and a larger sample of criminal files (n=47). These data show some peculiarities in the temporal and spatial distribution of cigarette trafficking in Germany, and shed some light on the offenders and offender groups involved in black market activities. The evidence collected raises doubts about many assumptions concerning the root causes of cigarette smuggling on a grand scale. Specifically, it is argued that high levels of taxation, cross-border price differences and the involvement of crime syndicates are not adequate or sufficient explanations.

The cigarette black market in Germany and in the United Kingdom

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in 'Journal of Financial Crime', 13(2), 2006, 235-254

This paper aims at providing a comprehensive assessment of the cigarette black market in Germany and the United... more This paper aims at providing a comprehensive assessment of the cigarette black market in Germany and the United Kingdom within the framework of the study of organized crime. The particular approach upon which this paper is based is a systematic, cross-national review of open sources, including media reports and government documents. The information gleaned from these sources is transferred into a classificatory scheme derived from the analysis of organized crime.

The Illegal Cigarette Trade

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in: Mangai Natarajan (ed.), International Criminal Justice, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011, 148-154

A systematic overview of the illegal production, smuggling and distribution of cigarettes. A systematic overview of the illegal production, smuggling and distribution of cigarettes.

Re-Conceptualizing Transnational Organized Crime: Offenders as Problem Solvers

by Klaus von Lampe

Paper presented at the 2nd International Symposium on Terrorism and Transnational Crime, Antalya, Turkey, December 2010
Published in 'International Journal of Security and Terrorism', 2(1), 2011, 1-23

This paper presents a conceptual framework for the analysis of transnational organized crime which centers on the... more This paper presents a conceptual framework for the analysis of transnational organized crime which centers on the practical problems offenders face. The framework breaks down the elusive concept of transnational organized crime to categories that highlight differences in the extent and nature of the transnationality of crime and that identify key logistical challenges to cross-border offenders.
Conventional wisdom establishes a close link between transnational organized crime and globalization, as a result of which criminals supposedly are free to roam an increasingly borderless world. This paper argues that such a view is over-simplistic. Political borders continue to divide the globe, and perhaps even more so in the aftermath of 9/11; and legal, cultural and language barriers continue to create additional obstacles for the transnational mobility of offenders.
How these obstacles define transnational crime is a matter of the specific nature of criminal activities. This paper presents two classificatory schemes, one distinguishing transnational criminal activities with regard to patterns of cross-border movement, the other distinguishing forms of cross-border mobility. Patterns of cross-border movement vary according to what crosses borders (persons, objects, information) and in what direction (unidirectional, bi-directional, multi-directional). Cross-border mobility, likewise, can take on different forms, for example with regard to awareness space, foraging, operational mobility, and networking.
A better understanding of transnational organized crime for analytical and policy purposes cannot be achieved without a more focused examination of crime phenomena within these categories.

Rethinking insurgency: criminality, spirituality, and societal warfare in the Americas

by John P. Sullivan

Co-authored with Robert J. Bunker in 'Small Wars & Insurgencies,'Volume 22, Issue 5, 2011; Special Issue: Criminal Insurgencies in Mexico and the Americas: The Gangs and Cartels Wage War.

Driven by globalization, Internet communications technology (ICT), and new economic forms the nature of states may be... more Driven by globalization, Internet communications technology (ICT), and new economic forms the nature of states may be changing. Transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) – including what are commonly known as cartels – are early adopters to the new political/economic landscape. In addition to seeking to rule the illicit economy, criminal actors (networked cartels and gangs) are challenging states through high-order violence and leveraging nascent social/spiritual movements (narcocultura) to potentially usher in a new political dynamic. These violent non-state actors (criminal soldiers) are insurgent actors. They are waging new forms of insurgency – criminal and possibly spiritual – that have the potential to reconfigure states.

Los Zetas: Massacres, Assassinations and Infantry Tactics

by John P. Sullivan

Co-authored with with Samuel Logan at 'The Counter Terrorist,' Vol. 3, No. 6. December 2010/January 2011.

This short paper reviews the tactics employed by Los Zetas.  One of Mexico's most ruthless, tactically proficient... more This short paper reviews the tactics employed by Los Zetas.  One of Mexico's most ruthless, tactically proficient criminal gangs has spread from an original 31 mercenaries into a sizable private army and criminal enterprise

La Línea: Network, gang, and mercenary army

by John P. Sullivan

Co-authored with Samuel Logan, 'The Counter Terrorist,' Vol. 4, No. 4, August/September 2011.

This short paper reviews the networked organization structure of La Línea.  La Línea, an enforcer gang, is... more This short paper reviews the networked organization structure of La Línea.  La Línea, an enforcer gang, is influential in the contested and lucrative region of the Ciudad Juárez "plaza" adjacent to El Paso, Texas.

Future Conflict: Criminal Insurgencies, Gangs and Intelligence

by John P. Sullivan

At 'Small Wars Journal,' 31 May 2009.

Gangs dominate the intersection between crime and war. Traditionally viewed as criminal enterprises of varying degrees... more Gangs dominate the intersection between crime and war. Traditionally viewed as criminal enterprises of varying degrees of sophistication and reach, some gangs have evolved into potentially more dangerous and destabilizing actors. In many areas across the world—especially in 'criminal enclaves' or 'lawless zones' where civil governance, traditional security structures, and community or social bonds have eroded—gangs thrive. This essay briefly examines the dynamics of crime and war in these contested regions. Specifically, it provides a framework for understanding 'criminal insurgencies' where acute and endemic crime and gang violence challenge the solvency of state political control.

Narco-Armor in Mexico

by John P. Sullivan

Co-authored with Adam Elkus at 'Small Wars Journal,' 14 July 2011

Known alternatively as "narco-tanks" (narcotanques), "Rhino trucks," and "monster... more Known alternatively as "narco-tanks" (narcotanques), "Rhino trucks," and "monster trucks"(monstruos), the crude armored vehicles emerging in Mexico's cartel war are evidence of a changing tactical logic on the ground. "Narco-tanks" are better characterized as improvised armored fighting vehicles (IAFVs)—portending a shift in the infantry-centric nature of the cartel battlespace.

Narco-tactics have been, for the most part, infantry-centric—consisting of small raids, blockades, and gun battles. The use of armored sport utility vehicles for transportation, raids, and tactical in-battle maneuver is largely an extension of the small unit infantry operations that characterize the tactical logic of the cartel war. The presence of armored vehicles ups the ante.

Explosive Escalation? Reflections on the Car Bombing in Ciudad Juarez

by John P. Sullivan

At 'Small Wars Journal,' 21 July 2010.

In an apparently significant acceleration of tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP), Mexican cartel violence... more In an apparently significant acceleration of tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP), Mexican cartel violence embraced the car bomb in an attack on Federal police in embattled Ciudad Juárez last Thursday, 15 July 2010. Not only did the attack employ a car bomb (apparently a primitive improvised explosive secreted inside a car not the fully-integrated variant found in Iraq, and the AfPak theatres known as a VBIED), but it also was an ambush that directly targeted police. This TTP is a classic insurgent attack method that promises to be part of Mexico's future engagements in its on-going criminal insurgencies.

Barbarization and Narcocultura: Reading the Evolution of Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency

by John P. Sullivan

Co-authored with Adam Elkus at 'Small Wars Journal.' 31 August 2011.

Mexico’s criminal conflicts continue to rage, and the government, cartels, and vigilantes increasingly contest the... more Mexico’s criminal conflicts continue to rage, and the government, cartels, and vigilantes increasingly contest the crucial plazas surrounding drug trafficking routes. Our series on Mexico’s criminal insurgency (or more specifically interlocked criminal insurgencies) has covered a number of trends—such as the emergence of cartel operations against the state in 2007, the growing trend of “societal warfare” and barbarism as well as internecine cartel warfare since 2010, the narco-cultural dimension and the growing international element of cartel operations. In the time since our last assessment in February 2010, many of these trends have intensified.

This essay will focus primarily on methods of interpreting the drug war, societal warfare, sophistication of cartel operations, and the internationalization of the conflict. This piece aggregates other publications on the violence since our last update, collecting many pieces of events and trends and modes of analysis observed and published in the interim.

Cartel v. Cartel: Mexico's Criminal Insurgency

by John P. Sullivan

Co-authored with Adam Elkus at 'Small Wars Journal,' 01 February 2010.

As the decade ends, Mexico's criminal insurgency continues. Yet the narco-war in 2010 is not identical to the violence... more As the decade ends, Mexico's criminal insurgency continues. Yet the narco-war in 2010 is not identical to the violence that began three years ago. Mexico's criminal insurgency at the beginning of 2010 is distinguished by three main trends: continuing (though increasingly diffused) violence against the state, increasing militarization of the Mexican state's response, and a growing feeling of defeat among some within Mexican policy circles. Additionally, the conflict has assumed broader transnational dimensions.

On the surface, the conflict has entered into a period of seeming stasis. But it is a bloody stalemate—and the war promises to continue simmering well into this year and beyond. According to the Mexican press, 2009 may have been the bloodiest year of the war, with 7,600 Mexicans perishing in the drug war. Whatever the nature of the conflict, the danger still remains to American interests. As we have noted before, loose talk of a Mexican "failed state" obscures the real problem of a subtler breakdown of government authority and bolstering of the parallel authorities that cartels have already created.